Choose the best for the Senate

I was viewing yesterday morning a live interview over Channel 14 of Senatorial bet Francis Escudero by our Ed Cruz.

As usual, Escudero, like his counterpart in the other party, Mike Defensor, was articulate, decisive, deep, and very knowledgeable.

He truly deserves to be in the Senate. Last week, Defensor was also featured here and came out with flying colors, like Escudero. These are the two young men we can pin our hopes on. Defensor is with the administration, Escudero is with the Opposition. It was replayed last night and, I understand from our managing director Amado Villacarlos, it will be shown again at 7 tonight.

I like the answers of Escudero to the question on the perception of our lawmakers being corrupt. He said, 43 Congressmen are facing anti-graft cases with the Ombudsman on issues related to pork barrel.

Escudero, like all other Opposition Congressmen, did not have their pork barrel after they voted for the impeachment two years ago.

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Talking of corruption, what is that news yesterday of some barangay residents filing cases against a barangay captain who made them sign the payroll for March, April, September and November last year but pocketed the money? This is not only in one barangay. In almost all barangays, this is being done. If people will come forward and ask how the funds for the barangay were spent and check with the Commission on Audit, they will find out many of them "received" the money after signing the payroll. Some signatures even forged.

If this is done, we might have no more barangay captains left if suspended by the Ombudsman. I believe the Ombudsman must give this attention. These are the grassroots. We don't want that they lose faith in the government.

But, we need leaders to lead them in filing the complaints.

Let us help them. Meanwhile, go complain to media. Go to radio stations and air your complaints. Then file the complaints and follow them up. Back to Francis Escudero. We need leaders of his kind. In the 70s, I interviewed many times in television his father, Agriculture Secretary Salvador Escudero who, at that time, was a member of the National Assembly. Francis has inherited the brilliance of his father.

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I sympathize with boxing idol Manny Pacquiao. The other day he was quoted to have said, there is no turning back for his candidacy for Congress in South Cotabato.

That Pacquiao is being made an instrument to beat the incumbent Congresswoman Darlene Custodio, an effective Opposition leader in Congress, is very obvious.

She belongs to the moneyed Antonino clan and is no pushover. Reports said, she was not fazed by Pacquiao's candidacy.

I can see Pacquiao, for whatever reason, still lacks discernment in the intricate game of politics. Coming from a poor family he still hungered for attention and wealth and the roar of boxing fans gave him the strength to fight. He must have believed that he will also get this in politics.

He does not know politics is a more complicated game and more cruel than boxing. He might be surprised to find that the weapons of politics can be more devastating than the fists of Mexicans, like Erik Morales.

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Why he chose to run puzzles me. He said he wanted to serve the country. Hogwash! Serve as a lawmaker? But law-making is not boxing. How else?

Congress is a talking Club. We all know Pacquaio is not a talker. He could not even speak one straight English sentence. Could be Pacquiao fears he might not win in the next round. So, running for Congress is a graceful exit.

But he has everything. He now has the money. He has the popularity, the adulation of the people. What more does he need?

Money? Unless he develops sticky fingers and diverts his pork barrel, he will be spending his own hard-earned cash. I am afraid, he might come out a pauper later.

Popularity? He is already popular as a boxing idol. As a politician, he has enemies and people are fickle. He must go down to reality that there may come a time, he will be hated.

I cannot believe he will make a good Congressman. Not in law-making. And do you think the other Congressmen will help him? No! Among Congressmen it's also dog-eat-dog, personal survival of each.

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Just like Senatorial candidates, it's personal survival of each. Unlucky are candidates who will join the group of movie actors. They will be ignored when the actor's handlers organize "fans" to mob, kiss, and hug the actor.

Let the movie actors campaign only for themselves. If our people are mature, they should not mob, touch, or even kiss actors. It is so demeaning.*

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